AKA the 'Little Man' theory.  I don't mind spending more if I can return the
favors and advice from folks I know. Last place you will find me is at the
mall, and Wal-Mart *only* if necessary.  No sense getting a cheap part and
nobody to ask how it works.
Good advice is ALWAYS better than a good deal. My .02.

On Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 10:07 AM, Loren Busch <starwagen@gmail.com> wrote:

>  RE: Cheaper Online Parts Surces
> I remember a sign I saw in a local pizza parlour some years back: "We don't
> argue with the competition that sells for less, they know what their
> product
> is worth"
> So let me pose a couple of questions:
> Do you wait till the fire starts to buy fire insurance for your home?  Do
> you wait for an accident to buy  liability insurance or collision for your
> vehicles?  Do you wait till you have a dead battery to buy jumper cables or
> a battery charger?  Of course not.  So let me make you an offer.  Would you
> pay a dollar or two extra per month to have a technical expert available to
> tell you what part you really need for the next repair or maintainence  job
> on your rig?  That's what we are doing when we support the online vendors
> that support us.  Sure, you can probably find a part a couple of dollars
> cheaper somewhere but by supporting the vendors we have we can provide some
> assurance that they might still be there, still be in business, the next
> time we need them.  And especially when we need to call them and ask for
> tech support.  To me 'cost' is 'dollars over time' and 'cheaper' usually
> means less dollars in the short term but the high possibility of more
> dollars in the future.  I grew up in a machine shop and two rules have
> followed me all my life:  "Do it right the first time" and "Use the right
> tool".
>

--
Michael in San Antonio
91GL AT 'Gringo'